Low-Carb Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps with Capers and Tomatoes

posted by Kalyn Denny on January 8, 2012

Low-Carb Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps are the perfect low-carb lunch, and these lettuce wraps are also Keto, low-glycemic, gluten-free, dairy-free, South Beach Diet Phase One, and they can be Paleo or Whole 30 with an approved mayo. Use the Diet-Type Index to find more recipes like this one.

These crunchy and delicious Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps with Capers and Tomatoes are one of the brown-bag lunch ideas that I collected in 90 No-Heat Lunches for Taking to Work, but these tuna lettuce wraps are something I’d happily eat for lunch at home as well! I actually ate these for lunch three days in a row, and the fourth day when I had no more lettuce pieces big enough to wrap around the last bit of the tuna, I ate it over some chopped lettuce as a salad. If you like tuna at all, and you have a fridge to put your lunch in at work, this just might become your new favorite brown bag lunch option.

There are a couple of important things that bump this up from regular tuna sandwiches, starting with the tuna. I am a huge fan of Tonno Genova Tuna Packed in Olive Oil, so that’s what I used. But whatever tuna you choose, be sure it’s good quality white tuna for best flavor. Then the tuna is mixed with a very small amount of mayo, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, finely chopped celery, chopped capers, thinly sliced green onions, celery seed, and seasoned with a little salt or Vege-Sal. The result is a tuna salad mixture that’s a perfect combination with the crispy lettuce. The diced tomatoes are definitely optional and you might want less tomatoes for Keto, but I thought they added a nice burst of extra flavor.

Recently I haven’t been able to find the Tonna Genova tuna at my market, so I started buying Tonno Genova, 3 Ounce cans by the case from Amazon.com. Whatever tuna you use, be sure it’s well-drained before you starting mixing in the seasonings. I mixed together the mayo, Dijon, lemon juice, celery seed, and Vege-Sal. Then finely chop the celery and capers and slice the green onions. Mix the dressing into the tuna first, making sure it’s well distributed. Then stir in the chopped celery, chopped capers, and sliced green onions.

I used this gorgeous organic romaine lettuce, but you could also use iceberg or butter lettuce to wrap the tuna salad. Fill each piece of washed lettuce with the tuna mixture, garnish with chopped cherry tomatoes, and eat!

8 large lettuce leaves, washed and dried (romaine, iceberg or butter lettuce will work for this)

1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes (optional)

Directions:

Drain tuna into a fine-mesh strainer and press down to drain out the oil (or water if you use water-packed tuna.) While tuna drains stir together the mayo, Dijon, lemon juice, celery seed, and Vege-Sal or salt.

Cut lettuce apart and pick out 8 large leaves. (I used two heads of romaine and kept the smaller inner leaves for salad greens.) Wash lettuce and spin dry in a salad spinner or dry with paper towels.

Chop the celery and capers and thinly slice the green onions. Chop tomatoes if using.

When the tuna has drained, put it in a bowl (with a snap-tight lid if you won’t be eating it all at once.) Stir in the dressing until it’s well-distributed in the tuna, then mix in the celery, capers, and green onions.

Fill lettuce leaves with the tuna mixture, garnish with cherry tomatoes, and eat with your hands.

This kept well in the fridge for several days.

Notes:

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps would be great for any phase of the South Beach Diet or any other low-carb diet plan, and if you use approved mayo it can also be Paleo or Whole 30. The South Beach Diet books only specify light tuna, but I would use tuna packed in olive oil for this recipe (not regular oil-packed tuna). I did use full-fat mayo, but take your choice on that.

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I've been stuffing all sorts of salads into lettuce wraps in the past few weeks, as I'm cutting back on bread. I love this jazzed up tuna (and I'm also partial to the oil-packed Italian tuna), and I'd definitely include the tomatoes, both for color and flavor.

Thanks for a great packed lunch idea! I sometimes take tuna salad with me, but I've never made lettuce wraps out of it. I always include capers in my tuna salad. Capers and tuna go so well together! Other than that, my version includes onions and fresh parsley or African basil. It may also include olives and/or sundried tomatoes and my dressing is a simple one made with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I love your blog, Kalyn! This recipe is just the sort of thing I find especially helpful. I go in to work at noon and I could easily it this on the way in.

I notice that you're a fan of Spike and Vege-Sal, have you ever tried Herbamare? It's an herbal seasoning salt, similar to Vege-Sal but just a little different. I love it, and it seems like something you might enjoy as well.

This looks great, but think I will do it with salmon instead…some of the ingredients are not available here in my part of Canada, but there may be similar ones, so it will still be good…so-o-o-o-o tired of Christmas fare! Thanks for this!

When you first posted this, I thought it sounded really good and I pinned it on Pinterest. Well, it's been circulating, and apparently everyone thinks it sounds good. My pin alone currently has over 100 likes and almost 700 repins. It's been so popular! Maybe you're used to a large audience, but I thought you'd like to know that anyway. 🙂

I have had my eye on this recipe for a couple of months, and I finally made them for lunch today. Absolutely delicious! I am not a fan of seafood, and I love to eat any sort of mayo-based salad on crackers or a slice of bread… but I was perfectly satisfied in this case. Thanks for posting- scrumptious and healthy!